TV topics from stem to stern

If you follow my byline in print, you’ll note that I’m all over the place these days. That’s the nature of my job in the months between Olympics, and it’s one of the most enjoyable and, occasionally, frustrating parts of it. I get to do a lot of things, but as often as not, I’m faced with topics about which have have limited exposure or knowledge. Such is the nature of the general assignments writer.

Let’s start, however, with a couple of TV topics. I’m trying to catch up on a bunch of documentaries that have stacked up in recent weeks, and now Channel 8 is bringing back an old one to add to the list. The PBS station at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday will air an edited version of its 1979 documentary Blowout about the Ixtoc 1 spill. The film will introduced by former Channel 8 employee Susan Wright, who introduced the original fim, and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring moderator Ernie Manouse with Donald Van Nieuwenhuise from the University of Houston, Michelle Foss from the University of Texas at Austin and Jeffrey Wozniak from the Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies at Sam Houston State University.

I’m something of a doc fan, so I’m looking forward to this one. After watching Channel 8’s recent documentary on fall of the Berlin Wall, I tried to track down a copy of The Tunnel, the 1962 NBC documentary about a group of students that built a tunnel from West Berlin to East Berlin and smuggled out a few dozen friends. It’s never been available, as far as I know, on DVD or VHS, but you can watch it here on NBC’s archvies Web site. Don’t even bother asking them, by the way, to buy a copy.

Moving on, I expect to hear more details in the next few days regarding the news format change at Channel 39. At first glance, it sounds to me like TMZ-style video; a couple of readers have said it reminds them of news as delivered by YouTube.

I don’t know what to expect. I am not necessarily wedded to the concept of the anchor as godlike figure, but I do wonder how one gets from story A to story B without an anchor to provide leadins and transitions. And, presuming that part of a successful TV product is getting viewers to tune in night after night, how do you develop viewer loyalty when there are no faces to identify with the product you’re watching? It is a puzzlement, particularly on the wings of Channel 39’s promotional push in recent months.

I have yet to hear about ESPN’s reaction, but I hope to do so this week as John Skipper, the network’s executive vice president, comes to Houston for the MLS All-Star Game.

Speaking of which, I was a little surprised by some of the comments about the fact that the Texans rank so high on the Forbes franchise value list. They’ve been there for several years, and they are there for several logical reasons.

Frankly, I was more surprised by the results of the British study that discussed the impact of sports event listening on driving habits. I didn’t think sports chatter could be so hazardous to your fender.

With August coming up, we’ll switch briefly into Olympic sports mode. USA Gymnastics’ national championships are Aug. 11-14 in Hartford and will include the return of Alicia Sacramone, the 2008 silver medalist and former world champion who is making a comeback at age 23, and what could be a pitched competition between Houstonians Jonathan Horton and Chris Brooks for the men’s all-around title. Also that week, USA Diving will stage its national championships at Texas A&M, featuring the return to competition of 2000 Olympic gold medalist Laura Wilkinson.

So there’s a lot going on, and that doesn’t even begin to address Texans summer workouts, the demise of the Astros and the continued questions over whether the Astros and Rockets will remain with Fox Sports Net or jump to Comcast to form a new regional sports network.